93% of MIPS-eligible clinicians to get positive payment adjustment

The vast majority of clinicians eligible for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System will get a positive payment adjustment for their participation in the 2017 Quality Payment Program.

That’s according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which on Thursday reported the new data on the QPP’s inaugural year.

Writing in a blog, CMS Administrator Seema Verma revealed that 93 percent of clinicians eligible for MIPS received a positive payment adjustment for their 2017 QPP performance—to be received in 2019—while 95 percent overall avoided a negative payment adjustment.

“Admittedly, the MIPS positive payment adjustments are modest,” wrote Verma, referring to the fact that the maximum positive adjustment for exceptional performance was 1.88 percent.

“It is important to remember that the funds available for positive payment adjustments are limited by the budget neutrality requirements in MIPS, as established by law under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA),” she added. “Moreover, 2017 served as a transition year to help ease clinicians into the program and encourage robust participation.”

Earlier this year, CMS released preliminary participation data on clinicians eligible to participate in MIPS under the QPP, reporting that 91 percent of all clinicians eligible for MIPS participated—slightly exceeding the agency’s goal of 90 percent participation.

Also See: CMS Quality Payment Program exceeds first year participation goal

MIPS has an advancing care information (ACI) performance category with measures that support clinical effectiveness, information security and patient safety, patient engagement, as well as health information exchange.

Under MIPS, the ACI performance category score defines a meaningful electronic health record user as a MIPS eligible clinician who possesses certified EHR technology, uses the functionality of CEHRT, and reports on applicable objectives and measures.

Created through MACRA, the QPP offers clinicians two tracks to choose from: MIPS or the Advanced Alternate Payment Model.

“We calculated that 1,057,824 MIPS eligible clinicians will receive a MIPS payment adjustment, either positive, neutral or negative,” noted Verma. “Of that population, 1,006,319 MIPS eligible clinicians reported data as either an individual, as a part of a group, or through an Alternative Payment Model (APM) and received a neutral payment adjustment or better. Additionally, under the Advanced APM track, 99,076 eligible clinicians earned Qualifying APM Participant (QP) status.”